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| Illustration by Lori Nawyn |
The beauty of Reading for Research Month is that you can experience it at your own pace and revisit it whenever you want or need to. You can also personalize it to your own writing needs and make it last all year long. Of course, our ReFoReMo blog goes on all year long, too, studying mentor texts through author studies, mini-ReFoReMo thematic challenges, THINK QUICK interviews, and Mentor Text Talks with focused perspectives from varied authors. Our hope is that our blog keeps you accountable and focused all year.
As our ReFoReMo 2020 comes to a close, we consider ourselves lucky to have learned from so many professional perspectives. Without these giving creatives, ReFoReMo simply would not be the same. We are so thankful!
If you registered for ReFoReMo 2020 by March 2 and you learned from us this year, you are welcome to enter the Rafflecopter below. We use one drawing to keep it simple; you will enter one time only. This will put you into a pool from which all prizes are drawn. The drawing will be open until this Friday, April 3 and prize winners announced on Tuesday, April 7.
We are ALL prize winners, though! We think the education gained from ReFoReMo is a enlightening!
What has helped you most during ReFoReMo 2020?
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It's impossible to pick one thing that helped me the most, because the gifts of learning and motivation will keep on giving. I really did appreciate the reading list all in one place. That made it really easy to search online, take to the library, and copy and paste them into my own reading list spreadsheet.
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that this was valuable, Terri!
DeleteI too can't pick one thing - I have multiple MSs that I am working on and Carrie's cummulative examples, Heidi's Narrative NF post, Matthew Winner's search for lasting impact, and Marcie Flinchum Atkin's story tellin techniques all spoke to a need in each of them. But the BIGGEST thing was the feeling of community in such uncertain and scary times!
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to hear that the challenge gave you the focus that you needed during this time. I struggle to stay focused, mostly because I felt the conflict of these times through my students' overwhelmed families. What's left of my brain is tired. I have yet to sit down and write. Maybe we need to form an accountability group?
DeleteDiscovery helped me the most! Discovery of mentor texts including Informational Fiction, Narrative Non-Fiction, Expository Non-Fiction, and Graphic Novel Hybrids. Discovery of enjoying white space, voice of two delivery stables, historical photographs, additional readings and further explanations. Discovery of a personal preference of holding a picture book versus watching it online. Discovery of a community who enjoyed picture books. Discovery of difficult issues needed to be discussed. Yes, taking the time each day to discover was so helpful. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYes! It is up to each of us to extend discovery into every analysis and every manuscript. Keep discovering!
DeleteAs this is the first time I took part in ReFoReMo it is so hard to choose one thing that helped me the most. To feel part of the Picturebook community is so important. To be shown examples of picturebooks from such a range of genres, to be guided as to why these books shine, to be guided on how these books have come to life and the enthusiasm of all who posted has been invaluable.
ReplyDeleteEvery morning I open my computer looking forward to the new post. Thank you, especially in these strange times, this has been a lifeline.
Great impact! Keep learning from many perspectives!
DeleteYour community is a gift I wasn't expecting. Your dedication is inspiring. I've learned more than I could ever imagine! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you and hooray!
DeleteBy reading so many of these picture books, I have developed a greater appreciation of how story and illustration work together to create wonderful books.
ReplyDeleteGreat! Keep discovering!
DeleteI appreciated seeing the broad spectrum of stories available and how each blogger had a different way of looking at things.
ReplyDeleteYes, and hopefully this helped you find your own perspective, too. Keep analyzing with new eyes!
DeleteReading, reading, reading! What could be more helpful than that?
ReplyDeleteAgree!
DeleteReFoReMo introduces me to books I may not be familiar with and opens my eyes in new ways. I'm so grateful for this event, the community, and for your dedication to the craft of writing PBs. Thank you, Carrie and Kirsti.
ReplyDeleteReFoReMo helps me get caught up on reading current picture books. Thankfully a lot of them are on You Tube since I can't go to a library and check them all out. I love seeing what editors & agents also choose and why.
ReplyDeleteThe posts had great examples that underlined the topic of the day. This was most helpful to me. Although I haven't read them all due to library shut downs, I was able to read a few each day (I still have all the books I requested that arrived prior to the shutdown:) ) and will definitely check out the rest once things get back to normal.
ReplyDeleteThe best thing was that waking up to a ReFoReMo email each day gave me the motivation to study such a wide variety of current picture books that I wouldn't otherwise have come across. It has really boosted my awareness of what is possible in all the different genres. As an author illustrator I feel I've also benefitted enormously from seeing all the different styles of illustration. Thank you both very much!
ReplyDeleteI think when the authors give insight into why the books are helpful he points out things that I sometimes haven’t thought of and makes me able to go back and look at my own work in the more discerning way. As you said it’s an ongoing resource for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThis is my second year participating, and it was a bit more difficult this year. I'm planning to use the reading list as my 2020 PB reading list, so that will help me the most this year. I enjoyed all the posts. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteSo many new titles to check out and wonderful suggestions from the guest posts! Thanks for the reading list that I will return to again and again.
ReplyDeleteI learned so much from the entire community! I also found that inadvertently I was following a specific publisher w/out even being aware of it. Those NF texts are guiding me now to craft a WIP I began in January. TY all.
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear of new revelations, Kathy!
DeleteThank you so much for this learning month!!! Reforemo really got me to focus on writing and reading. My notebook is packed with wisdom, which I’ll be retreading a lot during this quarantine. Thank you! ♥️
ReplyDeleteI read every day, but the ReFoReMo guest posts help me focus my reading on a particular aspects of the books I might not otherwise focus on. Not to mention that this year, in the midst of the pandemic, the challenge helped keep some normalcy in my life!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great way to grow outside of our comfort zones. Thanks for sharing, Heather!
DeleteAgain, thank you. I think all the great book suggestions helped me the most. I have a wonderful pile of inspiring texts to go through.
ReplyDeleteLove the master list. Its a great reference tool.
ReplyDeleteAnd also found Marcie Colleens discussion particularly instructive - how she studied mentor texts to see what was already written and how her story would be different.
What helped me the most is to realize what a valuable resource I have, just down the street, in my local library. I learned how to order books using their catalog system and enjoyed picking up my new treasures each day. In my last post, I forgot to thank all the contributors for their daily offerings of exemplary mentor texts. So inspirational! [Posted by LouAnn Silva]
ReplyDeleteThe month has forced me (in a good way) to really focus on mentor texts - something I love to do but a practice that often goes by the wayside. I was lucky enough to secure most of the books for the past two weeks from the library before it closed, too; that helped me keep a sense of normalcy, at least for a little while each morning. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm always grateful for the ReFoReMo community and the beautiful insights and variety of books the guest bloggers share. This year, I"m also grateful that I stocked up on a bunch of the books from my public libraries so they're here at home with me and I can share them as read-alouds with my students now that we're doing distance learning. Thank you so much, Kirsti, Carrie, and guests!!
ReplyDeleteThis was my first year with ReFoReMo and I was not disappointed! I loved reading each post and learned so much. What a gift this is for aspiring writers. Thank you for sharing this - it was perfect. Susan S.
ReplyDeleteThis month has helped me evaluate which mentor texts I need to be looking at in terms of my own WIP that I have been struggling with. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHooray, Charlotte!
DeleteThanks for another great month of community mentor text discovery!
ReplyDeleteWhat has helped the most? Hard to pin down, but I think I got the most of the posts that gave more information, more explanation about the connections made to specific books. I really enjoyed starting each weekday with ReFoReMo!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! The posts from Week 1 are models in the just how much information can be mined from mentor texts. As you become comfortable with your own process of exploration, you may begin filling pages with information, too. The posts from weeks 2-4 are meant to offer a seed which grows with you as you explore. May the days ahead be filled with new growth for you, Cheryl!
DeleteThanks to everyone who helped pull this year's ReFoReMo off! Had a great month reading the blogs and the mentor texts.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed adding to my list of books I had not yet read. I also appreciate the posts that give examples of how a mentor text helped guide another published manuscript. All helpful! Thanks.
ReplyDeletePicking only one thing is hard! I appreciated being introduced to new text formats and also having aspects on the texts pointed out, which I might have otherwise overlooked. Learning how folks used mentor texts to inform their own writing was also helpful.
ReplyDeleteI found the post about breaking the 4th wall very helpful. I had not thought about that before. I also enjoyed all the new books I had not been exposed to. Thanks to all the participants for providing such thoughtful reading lists.
ReplyDeleteThis year was certainly interesting! I was rarely on the same day as the blog posts, due to everything. I so appreciate the weekends to catch up! I learned more about what is currently being published, how word counts are being adjusted, and what books tell what type of stories. I was exposed to new ideas and had to dig deep to understand some concepts. I loved the artwork I saw, so wonderful and amazing, and the word choices of the different authors. One really can make a career out of studying picture books! Thank you so much, EVERYONE, for all of the hard work in organizing, hosting, and presenting this ReFoReMo! Merci beaucoup!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how others link books together with similar features. Some simiolarites are quite eveident, some not. thak you to all those who have participated and shared their thoguhts.
ReplyDeletei actually read books that I would not have usually picked up off the shelf. Then the books that I enjoyed, I copied text only in a book so I could study them without the illustrations. It was great! Thank you so much for doing this year after year!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the exposure to books I would have otherwise missed.
ReplyDeleteMost of all I love reading all the mentor texts and evaluating my pb drafts with them in mind. Day 18, Jeanette Bradely & Day 19, Anika Denise were my favorites because their posts really drilled down and showed how the mentor texts were examples of the points these author shared. Very informative.
ReplyDeleteThis activity is always one of my favorites of the year. Such a great learning opportunity. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI joined a Facebook group where people post videos of themselves singing parodies, singing or dancing to showtunes, etc. Some of the videos are super professional and others aren't, but everyone is having fun and supporting each other during this stressful time.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the similarities in the books chosen on any given day. On the shelf, they might not appear so but once read, it becomes clear. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat has Helped me Most During REFOREMO?: WOW! How can I POSSIBLY choose!!!?!!! EVERYTHING--from the daily posts (professional encouragement), the comments from other REFOREMOers (peer encouragement), to THE BOOKS themselves (THE BEST ENCOURAGEMENT, ALWAYS!!!)--has given me WINGS to fly HIGHER, try HARDER, stay FOCUSED, and to KEEP DREAMING!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, TO EVERYONE!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat helped me most was reading about how each writer specifically tackled their non-fiction projects—their methods, what was most valuable in their process, etc. It encouraged me to re-evaluate and revamp where necessary, my own writing techniques and research systems. Thank you to all involved!
ReplyDeleteIt is so helpful to discover new books! It was also helpful to focus on specific types of books. A wealth of information!
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of greatness in REFOREMO! I liked the challenged posed this year to try to adapt the reading to my work in progress. I enjoyed finding new books and discovering connections. The post about books that go beyond and difficult books are two that I'll return to, but not the only ones. You show just how great non-fiction can be! Thanks to all who make this experience possible.
ReplyDeleteIt is always exciting to hear when the switch flips for participants! That switch allows you to transfer knowledge to your own projects and use what you need. We encourage personalizing books to your own projects every year. Ultimately, that's what ReFoReMo is all about. We're thrilled to hear that you were thinking in a deeper, personal way this year!
DeleteThis has been a wonderful month filled with great posts and mentor books! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI've come across a lot of great mentor texts, new stories to savor, and bits of advice that has me thinking about my writing.
ReplyDeleteI am always grateful for an opportunity to grow and learn as an educator and writer. ReFoReMo always delivers effective and meaningful strategies for the importance of mentor texts.
ReplyDeleteSuzy Leopold
Reading all the books that people talked about in their posts.
ReplyDeleteI've been inspired with my own writing and learning when reading all the wonderful posts. I've also made some lovely discoveries to add to my reading list! Thank you for your hard work to put this together!
ReplyDeleteI loved the variety of guest posts and mentor texts! Such a great learning opportunity! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing all the different ways to present an idea in story form, both in fiction and nonfiction. Thank you for all the mentor texts!
ReplyDeleteI have found books I've never heard of that I must read for my mentor books. Thank you everyone.
ReplyDeleteJust grateful for the inspiration, the recommended books, the #kidlit camaraderie.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Carrie and Kirsti, and all of the contributors. ReFoReMo was definitely a bright spot in my March. Grateful for your generosity towards our kidlit community, as always.
ReplyDeleteWhat helped me most was the reliability of a daily post to look forward to during trying times.
DeleteSo glad to hear that, Kristen!
DeleteWhat helped me the most was when the posts showed me new ways to find ideas or to think about the listed mentor texts.
ReplyDeleteWhat helped me most: a sense of community, discovering new picture books, the daily posts. I particularly benefited from Marcie Collen Plants Story Seeds and her choice of mentor texts to tell an inspiring story about The Bear's Garden. Thank you for this delightful ReFoReMo journey during a difficult real life time.
ReplyDeleteWhat I loved most was finding new-to-me picture books to study encompassing such a large variety of themes and lessons! Some of these books I had read before (and even studied), but many I had not. Seeing them grouped with other books helped me to see what each of those has to offer me as mentor texts!
ReplyDeleteWhat has helped me most is paying attention to the language used in books and how it relates to the topic, style, etc. I've learned going further to choose the words I use in my own reading carefully to make my story that much better. This was my 2nd year participating. Thank you.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Congdon
We can discover so much with laser-focused eyes! Best wishes making your stories sing!
DeleteReading a variety of texts and having a virtual 'conversation" with all the ReFoReMo participants was so helpful to me. Thank you all - we made it!
ReplyDeleteThis series has lifted me up and helped to give me some focus other than the events that are happening in the world around us. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteReading so many different picture books helped me. I especially liked learning more about informational fiction.
ReplyDeleteThe constancy of your posts help ground me during these weeks of dire news and uncertainty.thnk you
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kirsti, Carrie, and team, for this opportunity to study and learn all year long! ReFoReMo is an amazing resource for mentor texts. I use the files all the time to find texts that help me write my stories. You ladies rock the writing community with heart and care!
ReplyDeleteThat is so kind, Charlotte! We are happy you return to study with us every month! Stay healthy!
DeleteI loved learning about current trends in picture books and seeing the creative, wonderful ways that authors and illustrators told their stories. I feel that I will be a better writer because of REFOREMO. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteAs for so many of us, I've found this to have been a tough month to concentrate on much else besides the bleak news. With my office now inhabited by my college-aged son and little space or time for writing, I've felt like this creative part of my life has been on hold. But reading these posts each day, sometimes reading several on one day to catch up, has been a wonderful reminder of what I love about picture books, the community of kidlit creatives, and the writing/revising process. I've placed many titles in my "to request" list at the library, and I look forward to reading them when we emerge from this dangerous period. Thank you, Carrie, Kirsti & all of the contributors for the many insights shared. Stay healthy!
ReplyDeleteStay healthy, Patricia!
DeleteThank you for helping us grow as writers. I actually have the lists from past ReFoReMos and keep them as an ongoing resource. Thank you for your generosity.
ReplyDeleteI always love to discover new-to-me titles, and different perspectives for viewing picture books, but this year it was wonderful just having a daily reminder to read, and a reading list! I expect to go back and re-read many of the posts and mentor texts. Thank you for all of this!
ReplyDeleteI appreciated learning more about the different genres of picture books, and noted which types of books I want to explore further to inform my own writing. My local library is tiny, so discovering the magic of inter-library loans is one of the biggest bonuses of the month. Only 2 books not available from the reading list!
ReplyDeleteI believe this year I have benefited the most from the posts written by authors who shared their personal testimonies of how they studied mentor texts, giving very specific meaningful examples. Since the time I first participated, I have loved getting the lists and discovering new picture books to explore. I have also benefited from the valuable information shared by each of the presenters and the reflective comments of the participants who have challenged me to think about familiar picture books from a new perspective.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to following your blog to continue to learn as I aspire to be a published picture book author.
Thank you, Kirsti, Carrie, and ReFoReMo Community for being so supportive!
Thank you for bringing us ReFoReMo! It has been such a treat to know I have it to look forward to and the end of each day... new ideas to consider, new books to discover, new approaches to resolving problems, and new perspectives in storytelling. It is such a treasure, at this time more than most!
ReplyDeleteSimply having a post each weekday about picture books helped calm my nerves. I really appreciated Author/Illustrator Jeanette Bradley's post - Reflects on Difficult Topics. I'm anxious to read Something Happened in Our Town. Thank you ReFoReMo Team!
ReplyDeleteFirst I want to thank Carrie and Kirsti for another terrific ReFoReMo... and am sending a special Thank You to all the guest bloggers for helping to make this year's ReFoReMo the best one ever!!
ReplyDeleteWhat has helped me this year? Where to begin? I really enjoyed Marcie Flinchum Atkins Storytelling Techniques, Courtney Fahey’s post on Exploring Environmental Issues, Heidi E.Y. Stemple’s piece on Narrative Non-Fiction, Keila V. Dawson on writing Informational Fiction, Janie Reinart’s post on using $100 dollar words, and Marcie Colleen’s discussion on how one can use mentor texts to see what was already written and how to make your own story stand out from the pack
Thank you for hosting ReFoReMo this year. I was doing well keeping up with daily reading and studying the picture books. And then the libraries closed. I read a few posts, missing out. And then I realized that I could continue to follow with YouTube read alouds, and such. What I learned this year was persistence in the face of obstacles. And finding other ways to continue writing. Thank you for your support and blogs--some consistency and solace in these strange times.
ReplyDeleteAll the educator blog posts have been thoughtful and insightful! And it's helped me to read so many fantastic books this month. Thank you to Carrie and Kirsti and to everyone at ReFoReMo! This has been wonderful, especially in these stressful times.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU FOR ANOTHER YEAR!
ReplyDeleteI have been helped by the inspiration of reading such amazing books and learning from the perspectives of the posters. I've had more than one "aha" moment, and I will be revisiting the valuable information over and over again. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI love the recent examples and the focus on learning a specific approach. Like mini-lessons we can dip into at our own pace. I was personally interested in the posts on informational fiction and graphic novels -- new areas to explore!
ReplyDeleteI have been overwhelmed by the generosity of all 'presenters' this month. The mentor texts list is a resource that I look forward to diving into much more once our library systems and bookstores reopen. Meantime, I've been inspired to work on writing my first-ever cumulative PB (Thank you, Melanie Heuiser Hill and Jaime Kim!) for which I have already received some excellent feedback from crit partners. Stay well, everyone!
ReplyDeleteWhat helped me is that I had something to look forward to — I loved trying to anticipate what tied a list of mentor texts together. I picked up some comp titles for a manuscript I’m working on. With how the world spiraled out of control this month, ReFoReMo was a welcome relief.
ReplyDeleteIt was so helpful to have a condensed, thematic list of books and someone to explain their connection to them. So many books to love!
ReplyDeleteThe entire concept of researching and learning from mentor texts is golden! Thank you
ReplyDeleteThe variety of posts and informative information you've given this month.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest and best learning: that there are so many ways to write a wonderful picture book and using mentor texts like the ones I read this past month are helping me to discover my unique path. Thank you so much for all the amazing posts and presenters and books. i know I will be revisiting them over the months ahead.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I had ordered the books in advance, so was able to keep up as the libraries closed. I love so many things about ReFoReMo, from keeping abreast of new picture books to understanding how to use mentor texts and how to find comp titles. There were so many great posts this year, but as a writer with a nonfiction focus, Heidi Stemple's post was incredible.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated being introduced to so many new titles—new for me—through the perspectives of the generous contributors. They each approached the topics in unique ways ...so so interesting, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI’m hoping to be back for next years Reforemo. I learned so much.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy learning new things & discovering new books.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice having a sense of community through ReFoReMe during this uncertain time. All of the posts were so informative. My favorite post that I felt was the most helpful for me was the Day 18 post on Difficult Topics. Even though I couldn't get many of the books because I live out of the country, I learned so much and have a great list for future reference!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting this month long event. I have so many books ordered from the library but I’ll be reading for a long time.
ReplyDeleteToo many benefits to pick just one! I read many books I never would have read and found a few that will be forever in my heart! The camaraderie, especially with my cup Dina Ticas was definitely a high point! I’m newly inspired to find my own voice. I think that is my biggest take away. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, again, for this wonderful research month. It's helped to keep me sane and feel that I'm still moving along my creative journey. I've grown in my understanding of how to use mentor texts, and I have many terrific new resources.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting this! It's always fun to see how other authors work, but I think the best part of this was the reading list--I loved seeing what books inspire you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for organizing and coordinating this wonderful mentor text extravaganza! With everything going on - I definitely fell behind on commenting and read the posts, but my son and I have read nearly all the books. I found some beautiful picture books to remember as I try to write my own. I plan to go back and read the posts I missed. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI think it was the daily availability of this blog that helped me so much this year. Even though my productivity has slowed, I knew I could at least reflect on the postings here, each day...and that little bit helps me to remember that we can find little ways to makes forward strides. We'll all pick back up again, soon. And pulling inspiration from here, and from other creatives, has helped so much!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the reading list! Nice escape this year! And, of course, I love hearing all the ways that different authors work.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the introduction to so many terrific picture books. I also loved the comments that each presenter made about them and the way each could help me to become a better writer by studying other picture books.
ReplyDeleteEvery year there are amazing tips and tricks from great mentors.
ReplyDeleteMore than anything, I get a renewed sense of encouragement and confidence!
Trying once again to post! Hope it works this time! (All my other comments are on the FB page for each day of ReFoReMo). Thank you for an incredible month! I learned so much and can't wait to go back through and read the books I wasn't able to get once our library reopens! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteTrying again; so many difficulties with getting my comments to post!
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping me on track with great posts each day! I've learned a lot and explored texts I wouldn't have otbewise seen ��
This year, I was able to get most of books early, and thus I read them early too. But then I realized that what I was gleaning from these books weren't always what the blogger meant us to glean, LOL! So that forced me to go back & read again w/ that particular blogger's POV. And I may have to reread these all again in the summer--summertime reads are the best, right? :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing so many new titles to my attention. Because I write narrative nonfiction, I tend to gravitate toward those books only. Important inspiration during an especially trying time...
ReplyDeleteThe thing that has helped me the most this year in ReFoReMo is the consistency it provided during this upheaval in our world. It allowed me to see different perspectives, and provided a bank of resources to draw on all year. I look forward to reading more of the suggested texts once my library is back in business!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It is wonderful to have curated lists of books and their connections. It will be great to read more once our library opens again.
ReplyDeleteI think this was the best season of Reforemo to date. I am still reading I've the list for 4-5 times. :)
ReplyDelete